Knaw, Anthrorat Rogue/Assassin CR 7
All assassins carry with them a legacy of pain and betrayal, their own personal road map to how they became killers for hire. Each and every one of these dark mercenaries has a twisted tale of what drove them to cease caring about others, and corrupted them into becoming murderers. This sin-filled past of anguish and sorrow is the one universal calling-card among assassins. Except for assassins like Knaw, who are just world-class jerks. Born Chrysanthemum Peach Napier, Knaw's birth signaled her mother's retirement from being a full-time prostitute. Moving up to the position of madam, it was obvious from a young age that her little girl was unsuited for continuing her mother's tradition of negotiable affection. Even as a tot, she enjoyed playing pranks that ranged from mean to downright cruel on the patrons, seemingly only happy when she was causing a ruckus. Luckily, Chrysanthemum's mother realized that there was a solution that not only suited her daughter's poor disposition, but also got her out from underfoot. And so it was that her daughter became the youngest recruit ever to join the thieves' guild. It was during this time that Chrysanthemum took the name "Knaw," liking the sound of the word but wanting it to have a nice sharp K at the beginning, rather than (as she called it) "a sissy-ass 'G'." Knaw excelled at her studies, and was more than once voted "Most Likely to Be Stabbed in the Back" by her peers. Graduating in record time (both because of her accomplishments, and because the instructors were getting tired of her killing her fellow students) Knaw started her first major job: breaking into and robbing a wizard's tower. Until Crushed and Red blew it up. Waking up naked at the Temple in her hometown, Knaw realized that she was one of those rare individuals who, for some reason, had infinite lives. The same was true, she realized, for the two idiots who'd blown up the tower she was robbing, which led to Knaw joining them, mostly to extract payback from them. Despite the little rat's abrasive personality, though, she's worked well with the group, and stayed with them ever since. Knaw CR 7 Female anthrorat rogue 5/assassin 1 NE Small Monstrous Humanoid Init +5 (+5 Dex); Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Listen +7, Spot +5 Languages Common ----- AC 18, touch 16, flat-footed 18 (+5 Dex, +1 size, +2 leather armor); trap sense +1, uncanny dodge hp 21 (6 HD) Fort +3, Ref +11, Will +4; evasion, trap sense +1 ----- Spd 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft. Melee short sword +7 (1d4+2/19-20) and Melee dagger +7 (1d3+1/19-20) and Melee bite +4 (1d4+1) or Ranged dagger +9 (1d3+2/19-20) Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Base Atk +3; Grp +1 Atk Options sneak attack +4d6 Special Attacks death attack ----- Abilities Str 14, Dex 20, Con 11, Int 11, Wis 17, Cha 12 SQ darkvision 60’, evasion, low-light vision, poison use, scent, trapfinding, trap sense +1, uncanny dodge Feats Alertness, Blind-Fight, Great Fortitude, Run, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse (B) Defects Bitch, Hateful Skills Balance +13, Climb +21, Disguise +7, Escape Artist +12, Hide +21, Jump +6, Listen +7, Move Silently +17, Open Lock +10, Search +9, Sleight of Hand +9, Survival +5, Swim +21 Possessions Leather armor, short sword, six daggers, 1 vial small centipede poison (injury DC 11; initial 1d2 Dex; secondary 1d2 Dex), 1 vial dark reaver powder (ingested DC 18; initial 2d6 Con; secondary 1d6 Con + 1d6 Str), thieves outfit, 6 days rations, belt pouches. ----- Death Attack (Ex): If Knaw studies her victim for 3 rounds and then makes a sneak attack with a melee weapon that successfully deals damage, the sneak attack has the additional effect of possibly either paralyzing or killing the target (Knaw’s choice). While studying the victim, Knaw can undertake other actions so long as her attention stays focused on the target and the target does not detect her or recognize her as an enemy. If the victim of such an attack fails a Fortitude save (DC 11) against the kill effect, he dies. If the saving throw fails against the paralysis effect, the victim’s mind and body become enervated, rendering her helpless and unable to act for 1d6+1 rounds. If the victim’s saving throw succeeds, the attack is just a normal sneak attack. Once Knaw has completed 3 rounds of study, she must make a death attack within the next 3 rounds. If a death attack is attempted and fails (the victim makes his save) or if Knaw does not launch the attack within 3 rounds of completing the study, 3 new rounds of study are required before she can attempt another death attack. Evasion (Ex): If Knaw is exposed to any effect that normally allows her to attempt a Reflex saving throw for half damage, she takes no damage with a successful saving throw. Infinite Lives (Ex): If Knaw dies, then at the beginning of the next round she is immediately reborn at main hall in the Temple in Char-Mon. When this happens, she must make a Will save (DC 20) to retain any XP she's gathered, with failure meaning she loses it, retaining the minimum XP necessary for her current level. Her dead body and her possessions remain where she died, and do not reappear at the temple. Her corpse cannot be raised, resurrected, or reincarnated, but can be animated or otherwise become undead. Knaw is not reborn if she dies of old age. Poison Use (Ex): Knaw is trained in the use of poison and never risks accidentally poisoning herself when applying poison to a blade. Scent (Ex): This special quality allows Knaw to detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell. Creatures with the scent ability can identify familiar odors just as humans do familiar sights. Knaw can detect opponents within 30 feet by sense of smell. If the opponent is upwind, the range increases to 60 feet; if downwind, it drops to 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at triple normal range. When Knaw detects a scent, the exact location of the source is not revealed – only its presence somewhere within range. She can take a move action to note the direction of the scent. Whenever she comes within 5 feet of the source, she pinpoints the source’s location. Trap Sense (Ex): Knaw has an intuitive sense that alerts her to danger from traps, granting a +1 bonus on Reflex saves and a +1 dodge bonus to AC against attacks by traps. Trapfinding (Ex): Knaw can use her Search skill to locate traps when the task has a DC higher than 20. Finding a nonmagical trap has a DC of at least 20, higher if it is well hidden. Finding a magic trap has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create it. Rogues can use the Disable Device skill to disarm magic traps. Disabling a magic trap generally has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create it. A rogue who beats a trap’s DC by 10 or more with a Disable Device check can generally study a trap, figure out how it works, and bypass it (with her party) without disarming it. Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Knaw can react to danger before her senses would normally allow her to do so. She retains her Dexterity bonus to AC even when caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, she still loses her Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. Skills: As a rat, Knaw a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks, and a +8 racial bonus on Balance, Climb, and Swim checks. Knaw can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened. She uses her Dexterity modifier instead of her Strength modifier for Climb and Swim checks. Knaw has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. She can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. She can use the run action while swimming, provided she swims in a straight line. Combat Knaw is the deadliest member of her party. She's not, however, the most martial - that distinction goes to Purity. When combat breaks out, Knaw will attempt to fall back and look for strategic openings to use her sneak and death attacks, letting Purity and the others occupy their enemies until she can strike. Of course, sometimes Knaw doesn't strike, mostly for the joy of watching her friends get the crap beaten out of them, but she'll usually attack after a little bit. Current Sketch Since she began adventuring with Crushed, Red, and Purity, Knaw has come to care for them as her dearest friends. However, she'd die before she ever admitted it (and has, on occasion), and continues to be gleefully hostile towards them as it amuses her. She and Red Stephie (whom Knaw calls "Tubby Bitch"), in particular, fight constantly, often to the point of actively sabotaging each other during adventures. In particular, Knaw likes to test her poisons out by spiking Red's food with them - after all, she knows Red'll just be reborn anyway, so what's the harm? Knaw gets along slightly better with Crushed, but is openly contemptuous of the klutzy catgirl (she calls her "Dead Kitty"). Only Purity draws a measure of Knaw's respect, mostly because the beargirl doesn't hesitate to beat Knaw to a pulp when she annoys her (Purity is the only one not to have an insulting nickname). To date, Knaw sends almost all of the treasure she gains from adventuring back to her mother - something she keeps a secret from the rest of the group. Appearance Standing just under four feet tall, Knaw is very pretty, save for her constant scowl. Her hair is honey-blonde, and she often pulls it back into two pigtails. Her body is covered with gray fur, which is lighter around her face, chest, belly, crotch, and thighs. She usually wears a bright red one-piece suit, along with a little red riding hood and cloak. Her outfit occasionally draws snickers from bystanders, which often results in them contracting a fatal case of being stabbed repeatedly through the eye-socket. Bone Knaw CR 8 Female anthrorat bone creature rogue 5/assassin 1 NE Small Undead (Augmented Monstrous Humanoid) Init +7 (+7 Dex); Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Listen +7, Spot +5 Languages understands Common ----- AC 20, touch 18, flat-footed 20 (+7 Dex, +1 size, +1 natural armor, +1 padded armor); trap sense +1, uncanny dodge hp 39 (6 HD); DR 5/bludgeoning Immune cold Fort +3, Ref +13, Will +4; evasion; trap sense +1 Weakness holy water (2d4 damage per vial) ----- Spd 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft. Melee short sword +9 (1d4+2/19/20) and Melee dagger +9 (1d3+1/19-20) and Melee bite +6 (1d4+1) or Ranged dagger +11 (1d3+2/19-20) Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Base Atk +3; Grapple +1 Atk Options sneak attack +4d6 Special Attacks death attack ----- Abilities Str 14, Dex 24, Con --, Int 11, Wis 17, Cha 12 SQ darkvision 60’, evasion, low-light vision, poison use, scent, trapfinding, trap sense +1, uncanny dodge, undead traits Feats Alertness, Blind-Fight, Great Fortitude, Run, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse (B) Defects Bitch, Hateful Skills Balance +15, Climb +23, Disguise +7, Escape Artist +14, Hide +23, Jump +6, Listen +7, Move Silently +19, Open Lock +12, Search +9, Sleight of Hand +11, Survival +5, Swim +23 Possessions Leather armor, short sword, six daggers, 1 vial small centipede poison (injury DC 11; initial 1d2 Dex; secondary 1d2 Dex), 1 vial dark reaver powder (ingested DC 18; initial 2d6 Con; secondary 1d6 Con + 1d6 Str), thieves outfit, 6 days rations, belt pouches. ----- Death Attack (Ex): If Bone Knaw studies her victim for 3 rounds and then makes a sneak attack with a melee weapon that successfully deals damage, the sneak attack has the additional effect of possibly either paralyzing or killing the target (Bone Knaw’s choice). While studying the victim, Bone Knaw can undertake other actions so long as her attention stays focused on the target and the target does not detect her or recognize her as an enemy. If the victim of such an attack fails a Fortitude save (DC 11) against the kill effect, he dies. If the saving throw fails against the paralysis effect, the victim’s mind and body become enervated, rendering her helpless and unable to act for 1d6+1 rounds. If the victim’s saving throw succeeds, the attack is just a normal sneak attack. Once Bone Knaw has completed 3 rounds of study, she must make a death attack within the next 3 rounds. If a death attack is attempted and fails (the victim makes his save) or if Bone Knaw does not launch the attack within 3 rounds of completing the study, 3 new rounds of study are required before she can attempt another death attack. Evasion (Ex): If Bone Knaw is exposed to any effect that normally allows her to attempt a Reflex saving throw for half damage, she takes no damage with a successful saving throw. Poison Use (Ex): Bone Knaw is trained in the use of poison and never risks accidentally poisoning herself when applying poison to a blade (being undead, Bone Knaw is immune to poison anyway). Scent (Ex): This special quality allows Bone Knaw to detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell. Creatures with the scent ability can identify familiar odors just as humans do familiar sights. Bone Knaw can detect opponents within 30 feet by sense of smell. If the opponent is upwind, the range increases to 60 feet; if downwind, it drops to 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at triple normal range. When Bone Knaw detects a scent, the exact location of the source is not revealed – only its presence somewhere within range. She can take a move action to note the direction of the scent. Whenever she comes within 5 feet of the source, she pinpoints the source’s location. Trap Sense (Ex): Bone Knaw has an intuitive sense that alerts her to danger from traps, granting a +1 bonus on Reflex saves and a +1 dodge bonus to AC against attacks by traps. Trapfinding (Ex): Bone Knaw can use her Search skill to locate traps when the task has a DC higher than 20. Finding a nonmagical trap has a DC of at least 20, higher if it is well hidden. Finding a magic trap has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create it. Rogues can use the Disable Device skill to disarm magic traps. Disabling a magic trap generally has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create it. A rogue who beats a trap’s DC by 10 or more with a Disable Device check can generally study a trap, figure out how it works, and bypass it (with her party) without disarming it. Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Bone Knaw can react to danger before her senses would normally allow her to do so. She retains her Dexterity bonus to AC even when caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, she still loses her Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. Undead Traits: Bone Knaw is immune to mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects), poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, fatigue and exhaustion effects, and damage to her physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution). She is not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, energy drain, or death from massive damage. Bone Knaw is immune to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless). Bone Knaw is not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities, and resurrection and true resurrection work only if she is willing to return to life. Skills: As a rat, Bone Knaw a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks, and a +8 racial bonus on Balance, Climb, and Swim checks. Bone Knaw can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened. She uses her Dexterity modifier instead of her Strength modifier for Climb and Swim checks. Bone Knaw has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. She can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. She can use the run action while swimming, provided she swims in a straight line. Combat As a skeletal creature, Bone Knaw is much deadlier now than she ever was in life. Without the burden of flesh, she is much quicker and quieter than before, better able to get the drop on unsuspecting enemies. Bone Knaw is less afraid of wading into melee combat thanks to her damage reduction, but avoids foes wielding bludgeoning weapons. Current Sketch Bone Knaw is the creation of a particularly vile necromancer known as the Bone Queen. Having defeated and slain Knaw and her friends, the Bone Queen was impressed at the little rat's bloodthirstiness, and so animated her dead body with some of her strongest dark magic, creating a skeletal servitor that retains the original's skills and personality. Still held in thrall to the Bone Queen, Bone Knaw is a bitter, vicious, twisted creature. No longer able to find any joy in her existence, Bone Knaw's only goal is to somehow permanently kill her living self, whom she despises for retaining everything she's lost. It infuriates her that, the one time she fought the living Knaw, she was defeated, despite having every advantage. Appearance Bone Knaw appears as a small, skeletal creature of indeterminate species and gender. While she still wears a shirt of padded armor, and just enough clothing to be able to carry her gear, and otherwise eschews clothes. The one exception to this is the little red riding hood and cloak she wore while alive. Though tattered and filthy, she still wears it at all times as it serves as one of the few things that identifies her to the people who knew her, something she paradoxically still considers important. Design Notes Knaw was designed by applying the Anthropomorphic template from Savage Species http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?cPath=160&products_id=25108&it=1 to a rat. The Infinite Lives quality is an original ability, added to make her better match the source material (see below). According to the Anthropomorphic template, Knaw's speeds should all be 15 ft., rather than 20 ft. They were all raised to 20, however, to better bring her in line with other Small-size bipedal creatures. Knaw has the Bitch and Hateful defects, both from Tests of Skill v.3.5 http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=59861 by Skirmisher Publishing. The former makes her take a -2 penalty to all Charisma-based skills. The latter Defect gives her a starting attitude of Hostile when meeting characters for the first time, as well as imposing a -4 penalty on the Diplomacy check of anyone trying to improve her attitude towards them. Defects behave exactly like character flaws (from Unearthed Arcana http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm), save that they don't need to be taken at first level, and are not limited to two (however, though you gain a feat for each defect you take, you can only gain as many bonus feats this way equal to the number of feats you'd have normally). Bone Knaw uses the Bone Creature template from the Book of Vile Darkness http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=3723&it=1&filters=0_0_0. As per the FAQ http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/BookVileFAQ12102002.zip for the book, this template adds +1 to her CR. Also, as per the unofficial Leaflets of Triel http://d20npcs.wikia.com/wiki/Image:Leaflets_of_Triel.pdf 3.5 update for the book, her half damage from piercing and slashing weapons has been converted into DR 5/bludgeoning. Knaw is from the (somewhat erotic) webcomic "Crushed: The Doomed Kitty Adventures" by the Brothers Grinn over at www.supermegatopia.com. A Crushed d20 supplement was made by Team Frog Studios in 2001, with a PDF version of the book being released in 2003 http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=17599&it=1&filters=0_0_0&manufacturers_id=462. The version of Knaw posted here is an original write-up of the character, written by me. Alzrius Category:CR 7 Category:Monstrous Humanoid Category:Rogue Category:Assassin Category:Savage Species